Violist Tabea Zimmermann, in her role as artistic partner of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, delivers an intriguing look at Austrian and German composers for this weekend’s performances. From Franz Schubert to lesser-known composers like Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Paul Hindemith and Max Bruch, the program features Zimmermann as ensemble member, leader and soloist.

Starting things off, the SPCO performs two pieces of incidental music from a play Franz Schubert wrote for called “Rosamunde.” Zimmermann sways her head subtly before the music begins, as if setting the time. Seated with the violas and cellos on stage left, she seems to face off with the first and second violins. In the first piece, Ballet Music II, the strings skip along in the beginning, before being joined by the woodwinds. The piece has a bittersweet sound that swells with feeling. In Entr’acte III, the orchestra revels in the big, bold energy of the music.

The SPCO’s string musicians then perform Symphonic Serenade, a work by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. The Viennese composer had a successful career in Austria before composing his first Hollywood film in 1934. He’d eventually move permanently to the U.S. after the Nazis annexed Austria and became an influential film composer, winning two Academy Awards.

In the first movement, you can get a sense of that cinematic sensibility. As the lower and upper strings trade a kind of call and response back and forth, the music builds to a smashing of beautiful sound.

An exciting pizzicato section begins the second movement, played remarkably fast by the musicians, followed by sliding notes before the pizzicato returns. The third movement slows things down into a rolling, mystical beat before the music becomes a fierce rumble for the last movement.

After intermission, the SPCO’s principal flute player Julia Bogorad-Kogan and bassoonist Demetra Alikakos are joined by guest musicians Noah Kay playing oboe, JJ Koh playing clarinet and Michael Petruconis on horn for “Kleine Kammermusik” (Little Chamber Music) by Paul Hindemith. The most dissonant work on the program, the music has sharp angles and a curious circularity. In his remarks about the music, violist Daniel Orsen noted Bogorad-Kogan called the music “kind of like Looney Tunes,” and there’s certainly a playful feeling in it.

The concert finishes with a terrific performance by Zimmermann as a soloist along with principal clarinet Sang Yoon Kim, playing the Concerto for Clarinet and Viola by Max Bruch. Zimmermann and Kim make fire together in the double concerto, with their combination of instruments that don’t often get paired together. Zimmerman’s free, inspired style plays off Kim’s clear and velvety tone. They both move quite a bit as they play, and look like they are dancing for much of the piece.

During the Schubert and Korngold, Zimmermann sometimes conducts from her seat as she plays with the orchestra. As a soloist in Bruch’s concerto, she occasionally turns around to signal the time for the rest of the musicians— and does so without missing a beat herself. Timpani and horns add gravitas to the work, adding flourish and a sense of majesty. It’s a satisfying conclusion for the concert.

St. Paul Chamber Orchestra

What: Bruch and Korngold with Tabea Zimmermann

When: 7 p.m. Sat., March 29, 2 p.m. Sunday, March 30

Where: Saturday: The Ordway, 345 Washington St., St. Paul. Sunday: St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church, 900 Stillwater Road, Mahtomedi.

Tickets: $16-$68

Accessibility: Ordway: Elevators access all floors of Concert Hall, accessibility seating for all mobility devices (request when buying tickets); service animals welcome (inform ticket representative); listening units and large print available upon request. One single occupancy, accessible restroom in the Music Theater lobby. Ordway.org/visit/accessibility.

Capsule: Tabea Zimmermann returns to the SPCO performing German and Austrian composers, including Schumann and three under-the-radar gems.

Related Articles

Review: Minnesota Orchestra turns out poetry in more than one guise